37. Invisible Marks

Shadow’s lips pull away from mine with excruciating slowness, leaving behind a hollow ache that hurts more than it should. His gaze—still burning with the frenzy of battle and something deeper, more intimate—locks onto mine, as if he’s searching for words he can’t quite grasp.

“Eve...” His voice is a low rasp, barely a whisper, an echo laced with tangled emotions.

I don’t let him speak. My fingers trace the lines etched across his face from the fight, skimming the scratches that mark his skin. It’s my way of telling him what words can’t contain—that I love him, that I need him, that I’m here… even when everything seems set on tearing us apart.

“You don’t have to say anything.” My voice is stronger than I expected, like I’m affirming something for both of us.

His eyes—dark and deep as the midnight sky—search mine. In his expression, a storm brews: pain, longing, and something I still don’t know how to name. But it makes my heart race. The way he looks at me makes me feel like I’m both his shelter and his ruin.

The moment shatters when one of the clan members steps forward. He’s older, his face slashed by a scar that cuts from temple to jaw. His stare weighs heavy, as if judging every inch of me.

“This cannot go on.” His voice is firm—like a hammer striking stone. “She’s human. She doesn’t belong here, Shadow.”

Shadow turns, placing his body between mine and the clan, as if he could shield me from their words. His stance is defiant but tense, like a wolf preparing to defend its mate.

“She is mine,” he growls, low and fierce, voice laced with authority. “And no one has the right to say otherwise.”

The man lets out a dry, humorless laugh that echoes across the clearing. “‘Mine?’” he repeats, as if the word is a private joke. “That human has no idea what it means to be part of this. She doesn’t understand the risks, the responsibilities. And clearly, neither do you—if you think you can protect her from everything.”

“Don’t underestimate me.” Shadow takes a step forward, his voice colder now but just as unyielding. “I’ve fought for her before. I’ll do it again if I have to.”

“I’m not a burden!” I cut in before I can stop myself, my voice slicing through the air like a blade. I can’t stand to be spoken about as if I were some fragile thing or problem to solve. “I know what I’m risking by being here. I don’t need protection from you.”

The man looks at me like I’m a child who doesn’t know what she’s stepped into. But I don’t care. I lift my chin, refusing to back down.

“Eve...” Shadow murmurs my name, a warning. But I don’t listen. I’m done being treated like I don’t have a voice in this.

“I’m not leaving.” My words are steady, unwavering. “And if that means I have to prove I belong here—then I will.”

The clearing buzzes with murmurs. Some of the clan look stunned by my defiance. Others glare at me with thinly veiled contempt. But Shadow\... Shadow looks at me like I’ve just said something that stole the breath from his lungs.

“If she wants to stay...” Shadow’s father—the clan leader—speaks at last, his voice cool, calculated. “...she’ll have to prove it. There’s a price to enter our world, human. And it’s not one easily paid.”

My stomach twists, but I don’t break his gaze. I know it won’t be easy. I know whatever they ask of me might destroy me. But if it means being with Shadow, I’ll face it.

“Whatever it takes,” I say, louder than I feel.

Shadow turns to me, his eyes dark with worry and something that might be fear. “You don’t have to do this. They have no right to ask it of you.”

“And you have no right to decide for me.” My words are soft, but firm. I look at him, letting him see everything I feel, laid bare in my eyes. “I’m here because I love you. And nothing—no one—is going to change that.”

For a moment, he looks like he might protest. But in the end, he only nods. His hand finds mine, fingers lacing with mine in a grip so tight it steals my breath. It’s his way of saying he’s with me—no matter what comes next.

“Then let the trial begin,” the leader says, a cruel smile tugging at his lips. There’s something in his expression that makes my skin prickle—like I’ve just stepped into something far more dangerous than I could’ve imagined.

But I don’t step back.

For Shadow, I will face anything.